Zeta Gundam (Asian Release)

Synopsis: Zeta Gundam has one of those enduring designs that never look old. Its streamlined design has always kept it and its derivatives popular in the eyes of the fans. With the impending debut of Zeta Gundam in the U.S. coming this year this figure is a given to be on the first wave of releases.

The Figure: The Head is well sculpted. The Paint job is good though in some areas a little sloppy. Movement is relatively free allowing for 360 degrees of horizontal rotation and a decent amount of vertical movement.

The Arms are well detailed and painted neatly. Rectangle-shaped slots are placed on the back of the forearms for the shield or grenade pack to attach. When attached, the shield can serve to hamper posing. The wrists and lower arm are free to move like most other Fed suits however movement is a little hampered at the shoulder when performing side-to-side movement due to the shoulder armor. The Figure includes five hands, two closed fists, 2 Sword hands, and 1 gun hand.

The Legs are well detailed, well painted, and have good movement. The skirt armor is made of a soft plastic allowing the upper leg to move better then other MS with similar size skirt armor. The hip armor on the side is a little more rigid so don't expect this figure to do the splits! Knee joints are nice in terms of movement but have slightly less range then say the Ground Gundam. The ankle has decent movement thanks in part to an independently moving front shin armor. The side ankle armor provides the only hinderances in movement.

The Torso continues the trend of having a well sculted and decently painted body while due in part in design is the most hampered part of the Mobile suit. The skirt armor surrounding the waist allows next to no torso rotation. The Backpack attachments known as Wing Binders by some are prone to poping off. The sizing of the sockets in the binders and the body must have been mis-communicated and never remedied because the parts look as if they don't fit and were forced in place. That problem proves to be a true shame and is a chief complaint among nearly all who've reviewed the Zeta.

The Accessories:

Beam Rifle: Aside from the Zaku's removable drum from its rifle, the units of Zeta seem to be among the first to sport removable clips. There are no extra clips but this looks like a start. The Beam rifle is dark grey with yellow coloring in certain parts of the rifle. It fits well on the Gun Hand.

Beam Sabers(2): I think the Z line seemed to be the first to sport Beam Sabers with the blades removable at the hilt. Bandai seemed to be a really enthusiastic about that because the saber and hilt is as tall as Zeta Gundam.

Hyper Mega Launcher: This is a curious weapon. At 17 cm tall(The Zeta is around 11cm.) this gun is really large and deserves a lot of attention. It is well detailed and features two swiveling handles which are normally concealed by compartment covers. Gripping this weapon is far more tedious requiring the right gun hand and left sword hand to handle in. At times it can be a hassle to pose it and its hard to allow it to keep the pose due to the overall weight and bulk of the weapon.

Shield: Fits on the back of either forearm. It is well painted and well detailed. The only problem of this accessory is that with the rectangular peg and absence of any pivoting point at the base of the peg, the shield can not be angled all.

Grenade Pack: This solid blue accessory takes the award as least interesting. While detailed slightly by etched in panel lines, these lines are not inked in and looks pretty unimpressive.

Play Value: The figure has lots accessories but the popping off wing binders pose a problem of interrupting game play. Aside from that the figure is nice to play with.

Display Value: Fortunately the wing binders don't pop off unless messed with so displaying this figure poses fewer problems. The hyper mega launcher seems to be the only problem when arming the Zeta though posing the gun in a more casual manner is more possible. The figure has a great look and in this category the figure can shine.

Dollar Value: So far this figure is available only as an import only. HLJ sells this figure for about $10.11 without the shipping. The detail job is good and the Accessories are nice but maybe you should wait for this to hit domestic release. As a domestic this would be worth the standard or deluxe rates.

Conclusion: A good figure, has a good look and accessories but slight movement problems and loose wing binders can hamper one's view on this figure.

Score: 6/10 Above average: A good figure but certain flaws hamper a higher rating.